Читать книгу Social Security For Dummies - Peterson Jonathan, Jonathan Peterson - Страница 36

Say you qualify for spousal or survivor’s benefits in Social Security, but you also get a pension because of your own work in local, state, or federal government. If so, your Social Security may be reduced under the Government Pension Offset provision. The reduction is significant: It comes to two-thirds of the amount of your government pension. Suppose you have a government pension of $900 per month, and you’re eligible for a Social Security widow’s benefit of $1,200 per month. In this case, Social Security may reduce your widow’s benefit by $600 (two-thirds of $900), leaving you with a Social Security benefit of $1,200 – $600 = $600.

Congress enacted the Government Pension Offset provision to make sure that Social Security benefits for government workers are reduced in a similar manner as for individuals who have worked entirely within the Social Security system. For example, if you qualify for a Social Security spousal or survivor’s benefit, but your own work record makes you eligible for an even larger benefit, you get only the benefit you’ve earned yourself. You can’t receive both your larger benefit and the smaller spousal or survivor’s benefit. In practice, several factors can preserve your full Social Security benefit, such as the following:

 Your government pension isn’t based on your earnings.

 Your government pension is based on a job in which you paid Social Security taxes and you filed for Social Security benefits before April 1, 2004, or your job ended before July 1, 2004, or you paid Social Security taxes on your earnings during the last five years of government work.

 You’re a federal employee who switched from civil service retirement to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) after December 31, 1987, and you filed for Social Security spousal or widow/widower benefits before April 1, 2004; your job ended before July 1, 2004; or you paid Social Security taxes on five years of earnings for government employment between January 1988 and when you become entitled to benefits.

You can find out more about the Government Pension Offset provision at www.ssa.gov/pubs/10007.html.